Party Ice Breakers To Break The Ice
At Your Next Party

Photo courtesy of: Carbon NYC

GETTING TO KNOW YOU
PARTY ICE BREAKERS

M&M'S - Have everyone in the group sit in a circle and pass a bowl of M&M's around and ask everyone to take some, but not eat them. For each M&M a person takes, they must share something about themselves.

TRUTH OR LIE - PARTY ICE BREAKERS

Each person writes their name on a 3x5 card and 4 facts about themselves, one of which is a lie. Cards are turned into the leader. A paper is passed out which reflects the name of all the guests. The leader then reads the name of a person on a 3x5 card and that person's list of facts aloud. The rest of the group writes down the one thing that is a lie by that particular person's name. whoever gets the most right, is the winner.

MORE GETTING TO KNOW YOU
PARTY ICE BREAKERS

YES, I'VE DONE THAT!

Make a list of 25 statements or more and pass it out to everyone. You need to have at least the same number of statements as you do guests. Everyone asks each other the statements until they find someone who can answer, "Yes, I've done that!" and have them sign their name on that line. They must get at least one "yes" from each guest before they are allowed to obtain multiple "yes" responses from any particular guest. As they go along, they may find they can't find a new someone to answer "yes" to a particular statement and must back-track and remove the name of someone's "yes" response to a particular statement in order to answer another statement "yes". The first person to complete their list wins. Examples:

• Have you ever gone to Europe?
• Have you ever rode on a motorcycle?
• have you ever lived in another state?
• Have you ever met a celebrity?
• Have you ever been to Disney World?
• Have you ever done a "For Sale By Owner" house?
• Have you ever planted a vegetable garden?
• Have you ever been a car salesperson?
• Have you ever planned a wedding?
• Have you ever installed a doughboy pool?
• Have you ever ridden in a limousine?
• Have you ever driven a riding lawn mower?
• have you ever made a trip to a dump?
• Have you ever sent a man flowers?
• have you ever participated in a marathon?
• Have you ever gone mountain climbing?
• Have you ever owned a water bed?
• Have you ever been to a chiropractor?
• Have you ever been a member of a sorority or fraternity?
• Have you purchased a burial plot?
• Have you ever participated in a beauty contest?
• Have you ever had a dog compete in a dog show?
• Have you ever been somewhere while an earthquake occurred?
• Have you ever been somewhere while a tornado took place?
• Have you ever been somewhere while a hurricane occurred?
• Have you ever been on a college sports team?
• Speaks a second language?
• Have you ever dressed up as a girl? (Question for guys)
• Have you ever dressed up as a guy? (Question for girls)
• Have you ever played an instrument?

EVEN MORE GETTING TO KNOW YOU
PARTY ICE BREAKERS

THREE IN COMMON - PARTY ICE BREAKERS

Break your guests into groups of 3's. Give everyone 5-10 minutes to converse and come up with 3 uncommon things that they have in common. At the conclusion, each group shares with everyone what 3 things they have in common with their teammates. Obvious things like hair color, sex, age, aren't allowed.

LET'S MAKE A RESOLUTION - PARTY ICE BREAKERS

As guests arrive, have them each write down a resolution, of something they resolve to do or not do, on a slip of paper and place it in a bowl. After everyone has arrived, pass the bowl around and have everyone draw out a slip. Then have them mingle with one another to discover who wrote the resolution they picked. At the end of the game, have everyone read their resolutions out loud.

TALENT SHOW

Go around the room and have each person introduce themselves and perform or demonstrate their special talent for the group. For example, sing a song, do a dance, recite a poem, tell a joke, do a cartwheel, juggle, etc. If a person doesn't think they possess any "great" talent, they must still come up with something. They can always sing a song off key, do a jig, or any other silly thing.

YES, STILL MORE GETTING TO KNOW YOU
PARTY ICE BREAKERS

WHO IS IT?

Give everyone a 3x5 card and have them write their name at the top. Then have them each write down 4 things about themselves that no one else in the room knows. Collect the cards. Give everyone a piece of paper and have them number the lines to correspond with the number of cards you have. Read all the cards, one at a time, and have everyone write down who they think you are talking about. Then read off the correct answers, teens check their lists, and whoever has the most right is the winner.

THE PURSE AND POCKET GAME

Everyone selects 1-2 items from their purse or pocket that is important to them or has a special significance. Then each person introduces themselves and shares the item(s) with the group and explains why they are important to them.

SENTENCE STARTERS PARTY ICE BREAKERS

Before the party, write down on separate slips of paper, some sentence starters. Have your guests pull a slip from a bowl, read the sentence starter, and then complete it, along with providing several additional sentences of information that coincides with their sentence starter, to help everyone get to know them.

The following is a sample list of sentence starters:

• I am...
• The lowest...
• I love it when...
• I would never...
• The unbeatable...
• The funniest thing that ever happened to me was...
• I have never...
• The thing that makes me laugh is...
• The best way to save...
• My ideas of beauty is...
• when I think of prunes...
• The most important decision I ever made in my life was...
• I love to...
• The greatest thing my child ever did was...
• The best thing I ever did for my baby is...
• The diamond standard is best when...
• The most unbelievable thing...
• The biggest and best...
• Although most people don't find...
• I think I have the best...
• The largest load of...
• The best way for me to relax is...
• There is nothing I enjoy more than...
• The highest...
• I hate tardy...

TEST YOUR MEMORY AND INVESTIGATIVE SKILLS WITH THESE PARTY ICE BREAKERS

MY OTHER HALF

Make a list of famous couples and write the name of one half of the couple on one 3x5 card, and the other half on another card. Give each guest a card, but instruct them to keep their identity a secret. They must try to find their other half by asking people "yes" or "no" questions until he or she finds their other half. whoever finds their partner first, wins. Couple examples are:

• Adam and Eve
• Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
• Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver
• Bonnie and Clyde
• Cleopatra and Marc Anthony
• George Burns and Gracie Allen
• George and Martha Washington
• Gomez and Morticia Addams
• Herald and Maude
• Herman and Lily Munster
• Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Baccall
• Ingrid Bergman and Robert Rossellini
• Jack LaLane and Elaine LaLane
• Lucy and Ricky Ricardo
• Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio
• Napoleon Bonaparte and Josephine
• Ozzie and Harriet Nelson
• Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas
• Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara
• Romeo and Juliette
• Roy Rogers and Dale Evans
• Siegfried and Roy
• Sonny and Cher

DO YOU REMEMBER? - Fill a large tray with 20-25 items, e.g., dog knick-knack, pocket watch, scissors, nail file, highlighter, remote, breath mints, Whiteout, rock, aspirin bottle, can opener, tape dispenser, fork, onion, Zip-Loc bag, etc. and cover with a towel. Have everyone sit in a circle and place the tray in the middle, remove the towel, and give the group 10 seconds to try and memorize the items on the tray. Cover the tray, and then go around the circle and have each guest name one of the items. Keep going until someone fails to recall an item, calls out an item that isn't on the tray, or calls out an item previously recited. That is person is then out of the game. The play resumes until all of the items have been recalled. If a winner has not emerged, replace the items and start the game again with the remaining participants.

GENERAL PARTY ICE BREAKERS

TRIVIAL PURSUIT ON THE RUN

Put Trivial Pursuit cards all over the party room with signs inviting people to pick them up and read the questions to other party goers, thus beginning conversations.

DO YOU HAVE...

Split your guests into teams. Then ask if they can come up with specific items from their purses and pockets. The first team to yell out and show that they have a particular item, receives a point. The group with the most points wins.

The following is a sample list of things to ask the teams to produce:

• $100 bill
• Address book
• Baby picture
• Bank deposit receipt
• Bifocal glasses
• Breath mints
• Business card
• Cell phone cover
• Coins that total $.96
• Credit card holder with at least 7 credit cards
• Family picture
• Fingernail clippers
• Hand lotion
• Handkerchief
• Key chain with at least 10 keys
• Nail file
• Paperclip
• Pen with a cap that has visible chew marks
• Perfume
• Pocket knife
• Pocket watch
• Rain check from a store
• Receipt
• Rubberband
• Stamp
• Tissues
• Unpaid bill

MORE GENERAL PARTY ICE BREAKERS

BELIEVE IT OR NOT - PARTY ICE BREAKERS

Write on index cards "Truth" or "Lie." Shuffle cards and pass out one card to each player. Tell them to look at their cards, but not show them to anyone. If their card is marked "Truth," then they must share a crazy, embarrassing, or funny story about something that happened to them or someone else they know, but it must be true. If their card is marked "Lie," then they must make-up a crazy, embarrassing, or funny story that is full of lies. One by one, each player shares their stories and everyone records on a piece of paper by that person's name whether the story they shared is the truth or a lie. Whoever gets the most right, wins.

Variation: Search tabloids, Internet, newspapers, books, etc. for funny, hard-to-believe true stories. Mix them in with some made-up stories and ready everything to the group, and have them write down whether the story is the truth or a lie. Whoever gets the most right, wins.

ONE CARD STUD - PARTY ICE BREAKERS

Pass out 1 playing card to each guest. Give them 5-10 minutes to join forces with other guests to ultimately create the best poker hand possible. Once a person commits to joining another, they can't retract that commitment. Whoever comes up with the best poker hand is the winning group.


Start playing your party ice breakers after all your guests have arrived, especially those that are designed to get to know one another. This way, no one will feel left out. Be sure to plan more party ice breakers than you will need, just in case one doesn't work out for your group. Keep your party flowing so everyone can get to know each other and have fun!